It Begins

The tool collecting, that is. I counted up my current batch of tatting shuttles today, and there are eight at present, with four others that have not yet arrived. So that really means twelve. But what sits in front of me right now, right this minute, are eight. Four Clovers, one Aerlit, one Banyek, one horn, one metal Celtic. The first five are my cheapies, the last three are my special ones.

You might think I’m crazy, but I do have a justification for this: I don’t collect tools just for collecting’s sake! I actually use the tools I have, all of them. I never have just one project in progress; there are always several, if not many, and each project has a tool attached to it.

Not only that, but sometimes tools that appear to be the same actually serve different purposes, or you actually need more than one of the same tool. Case in point, if you ever weave sprang, you need two weaving swords. For weaving pickup, you need at least one, if not more. And verily, it sucks if you find yourself in the middle of something, you’ve got a groove going, and you are pulled up short because you need a tool you simply don’t have. Now you’ve lost your groove because you’re on a frantic hunt for something you can use to improvise. Yeah, been there, done that, bought the tee shirt. It happens to everyone, I think, although it could just be me.

And there are tatting patterns that call for two shuttles, as well, not that I’ve been brave enough to attempt them just yet.

So there are reasons for having many shuttles, and my viewpoint is that if I need the tools anyway, why not have nice ones that you enjoy using? Sure, the Clovers are adequate to the job, but I love the smooth feel of the horn shuttle. I like the streamlining of the Celtic. And I love the look of the Banyek.

The horn and Celtic each came from Lacis. I’ve bought Lacis products before, but I’ve never ordered directly from them before, and I was pleasantly surprised by the speed at which my order arrived. I really wish they had a print catalog, but you can’t have everything, I guess!

Well, I’ve got a radiology final on Monday, and I’d better get on studying for it!! This is it, folks: the final Final!! Cross your fingers and wish me luck. Lots and lots of luck!